Steal the Day (Thieves #2)(3)

“You have nothing to be jealous of.” It sounded like a reassuring lie even to my ears. I still saw Danny almost every day. It had to bother Dev. “If I could get a divorce, I would.”

I’d come to accept the marriage I’d been tricked into. It wasn’t like I had much of a choice. Tricked is a harsh word. Daniel had been trying to protect me at the time. It was kind of his excuse for everything. I didn’t resent the protection. I resented the fact that he’d left me ignorant. I had to find out from a demon that we were married.

There’d been no vows of love and devotion, no white dress or fabulous reception. There had been blood and sex and a transfer of ownership between Daniel and myself.

And there was no divorce when you were married to a vampire.

“I guess I should be happy my head’s still on my body.” Dev shrugged negligently, a boyish gesture. “When I found out Daniel was back from Paris, I kind of expected to become one of those ‘bodies in a dark alley’ stories.”

“Oh, babe, they would never find your body.” Daniel would be far more careful than that. I slipped back into the dress I’d worn earlier. It was wrinkled from sex in the elevator on the way up. I looked very “walk of shame.” “He won’t hurt you. He promised me. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t kick him to the curb when he came back.”

There were many other reasons, but I didn’t go into those with Dev. I didn’t mention that it was difficult for me to even imagine my life without Daniel Donovan in it, no matter how pissed I was at the time. I didn’t mention that it was becoming increasingly difficult to just be friends with the man I once planned a life with. Months had passed and my anger was softening.

“Where are my shoes?” I’d worn a comfortable pair of boots with a smaller heel in deference to my meeting.

It was a nice fall night and the boots would be warm. The peep toe heels Dev had bought were not the best fit for the season. And the way some of my client meetings went, I might be running for my life before the night was over.

“I think you left them in the limo. I sent the driver home, but I can call him back.”

I glanced at my watch as I clasped it on my wrist. “Damn it, I’m going to be late. No, I’ll go in the heels.”

I winced inwardly at the thought. They hadn’t bothered me at all when they were wrapped around Dev’s waist, but I didn’t think tonight was the night to break in a new pair of shoes.

Dev smiled, and I wondered if I had really left the shoes in the car. He looked satisfied as I slid my feet into the four-and-a-half-inch heels. I could guess what he was thinking. There was no way I bought those shoes for myself, and Daniel would know it.

I kissed him anyway. It was a sweet kiss and made me remember that Dev and I had fun. It was easy to be with Dev. With the exception of my marriage, we never fought. We satisfied each other, and that was enough for now. He never told me he loved me, and I tried really hard to not even think the words about him. Loving Devinshea would be very dangerous, but I couldn’t seem to walk away, either. I wasn’t his destiny or his last remaining tie to humanity. He liked me. He wanted me. That was enough. It was what I needed.

Dev walked me to the elevator, his hand in mine. “Hey, could you try to find out something for me?”

“Sure. What’s up?” I was willing to do just about anything now. He wasn’t forcing the situation with Daniel so I could definitely do him a favor.

His eyebrows drew together as he looked down at me. “It’s about the new regulars at Ether. Have you not noticed? Is there a vamp convention in town or something? Normally I get one or two a month in the club. But lately, I’ve seen a couple of new fangs in almost every night. They’re odd, too. You know how normal vamps act, right?”

“Sure.” Vampires weren’t big on individuality. They tended to dress the same and act really cool and standoffish until they needed a snack. It was the way Daniel acted until he started taking my blood on a regular basis. In the last several months, he’d come out of what I termed his “long, dark broody period.” He was behaving more like the Daniel he’d been when he was alive.

Dev held the door open, his face thoughtful. “These vamps don’t dress alike. One of them was wearing jeans and a Cowboys jersey, and he was hanging out with a female wolf. I swear, Zoey, I thought he was human. I was about to kick him out of the club when I realized what he was.”

It was curious. Wolves, especially the local pack, had never been friendly with vampires. It was one of the reasons my roommate, Neil, severed all ties to his family. Neil wasn’t welcome in the pack due to his blood oath to protect Daniel. There was something very odd going on if wolves were suddenly buddying up to strange vamps.

“I’ll ask around.” I stepped into the elevator and realized I had another problem. Dev had sent a car for me. I opened my mouth to ask, but Dev was already tossing me the keys to his Audi. I caught them with a smile. “Thanks.”

“Don’t destroy it.” He shook his head because he knew I was perfectly capable of doing just that.

I took the elevator straight down. The doors opened directly into Dev’s office. I had to walk through Ether to get to the parking garage where the car was parked. I opened the door to the office and was assailed by the full-time rave that is Ether. The throbbing beat filled the air as I descended the steps as quickly as my shoes would let me.